


Uncharted

by activevirtues



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: Dollar Donation Drive, M/M, road trip fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-28
Updated: 2009-12-28
Packaged: 2017-10-05 10:09:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/activevirtues/pseuds/activevirtues
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They could have gone to Vegas. They didn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Uncharted

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rette_mich_th](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=rette_mich_th).



> For the wonderful rette_mich_th as a thank you for donating to the Houston Area Women's Sheleter, in honor of Terri Sanvincete. Thanks so much for your generosity (and hard work with the counting during the donation drive!) I hope you enjoy it, hon.

"I don't get lost," Adam was saying as they pulled off the road. "I just don't. We're on the right track, I swear."

Kris leaned over and squinted at the map. "Remind me why we didn't get a GPS again?"

"Because if I wanted to have some bitchy British lady tell me what to do, I'd go on Craigslist." Adam looked at the map one more time, then opened the door. They were parked at a viewpoint, and beyond them the desert unfurled in shades of red and gold and brown.

"You know, if we're gonna backtrack, we should do it soon."

"We are _not_ backtracking, Kris, because we aren't lost. That map is just old." Adam looked off into the distance to where the horizon shimmered. "But this road has to go somewhere."

"This is the start of a horror movie," said Kris.

\---

Searchlight, Nevada was, as it turned out, marginally on the way to the Grand Canyon from LA. Adam took great pains to point this out after the man at the trading post laughed for about five minutes when Kris dragged him inside to ask.

"Well," Adam said, shoving his sunglasses up on his nose, "he _did_ say we're closer to Vegas…"

"We're going to the Grand Canyon," Kris said. "Don't make me do the puppy dog face. You know I will."

"Whatever, that doesn't work on me anymore," Adam said, and started toward the Mustang.

Kris didn't follow. Turning back to look at him was Adam's first mistake.

"So Jack said the Grand Canyon is about five hours if we're making good time," Kris said as soon as Adam slid into the passenger seat.

"Fine," Adam said, and shoved a chip in his mouth. He crunched it viciously. Road trips were not made for diets.

"Vegas will still be there when we're done," Kris said, and patted his hand.

\---

"Just can't do things the easy way, can you?" said the man at the Gas-N-Grub in Peach Springs. He chewed on a toothpick, eyeing them and the moonpies they laid on the counter.

"No sir," said Kris, and smiled.

The man did not smile back. "You know, it's not a crime to take the Interstate," he said after a moment.

Kris's smile didn't falter. "You have a great day, sir," he said, and snatched up the moonpies.

"Tourists," Adam heard the man mutter before the door slammed shut.

\---

"Hey look, Kris," Adam said, and pointed to the statue of the dinosaur outside the Grand Canyon Caverns Entrance And Curio Shop.

They took a picture underneath it, trying for their best dinofaces, and Adam sent the photo to Katy with the message _ur husband has found long lost bro xx_.

Two hours later, he got a text back - _lol yeah those teeth are sharp, you'll see_!

He smiled into the window for a moment, then turned up the radio.

\---

The last stretch of Route 64 was pretty much nothing but empty fucking desert, and even something so beautiful got monotonous after two hours of it.

"Pull over," Adam said at one point, five hours from when they stepped out the door of the general store in Searchlight.

"We're almost there," Kris said. "Did you see that tour bus go by five minutes ago?"

"I gotta pee, man. Pull over."

"You and your water, Adam," Kris said, but brought the car to a stop on the side of the road and killed the engine.

He walked a little bit, just away enough from the car where there was no danger of being seen from the road, and said, "Hydration is important," over his shoulder before unzipping. It felt good to pee – weird out here, staring at nothing but bone-dry desert and blue fucking sky. There wasn't even a cloud, and Adam wondered how long it had been since the anything around here had gotten rain. "I'm not a cactus," he added, and could hear Kris snort.

"Tell that to your hair," Kris said, the snort turning into a full-on laugh.

"Laughing at your own jokes?" Adam said. He tucked himself away and turned back to Kris, trying not to grin.

Kris leaned against the car, soaking in the sun for a moment. "I'm a comic genius," he said.

\---

They had worked out a system for the music choices by the time they got out of LA – but something about the desert made Adam crave trance, and that was never going to fly with Kris, no matter how open-minded he thought he was. But he couldn't help himself – he swapped their iPods the next time they stopped, and when Kris got back in the car Adam was leaned all the way back in the seat, staring up at the sky where the roof should be with his mouth open like he was trying to catch raindrops.

Adam considered it a testament to their friendship that Kris didn't say anything for a whole six miles.

"We're listening to Merle Haggard next," he said finally. "And you're going to _like_ it."

"Maybe I'll cover it when we get back to LA," Adam said, still grinning into the sky. "I'm sure Merle would totally approve of a little sitar."

"Heretic," Kris said, and laughed like he couldn't help himself.

\---

They got to the Grand Canyon as the sun was setting, and Adam ran out of the car to take pictures the moment it rolled to a stop.

It was very nearly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life.

\---

They had a suite at the El Tovar Hotel, because, Adam told Kris, they were fucking rock stars and they didn't have to sleep on the ground and drink lukewarm Pabst if they didn't want to.

Kris just laughed and said, "You're missing the point, Adam."

"Is the point to see the Grand Canyon?"

"That's one of the points," Kris conceded.

As soon as they got settled, Kris dragged Adam out on the suite's private deck. In front of them, the canyon was pitch dark. Adam looked up.

"Stars," he said, and at his feet he heard Kris sigh. The deck vibrated a little as Kris lay down, stretched out.

"Stars," Kris agreed.

**Author's Note:**

> [The El Tovar Hotel](http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/el-tovar-409.html) is real.


End file.
